Attention! British Council Kazakhstan Arts team would like to inform you that annual artwork competition is coming back in 2013-2014 even bigger and even better! For this reason we won’t be running the competition in 2012. Watch this space and thank you all for your understanding!
The UK meets Kazakhstan: Culture - a shared value!
British Council, Kazakhstan’s, annual artwork competition is gaining strength and recognition among young audiences, artists and art curators. In November 2011 British Council Kazakhstan held an exhibition, called “The UK meets Kazakhstan: Culture - a shared value!” at the State Central Museum of Kazakhstan in central Almaty. The exhibition gathers the best artworks by finalists from the 2010 and 2011 themed artwork competitions. The opening ceremony attracted over 200 guests, among them well established contemporary artists, internationally known arts curators and gallery owners.
After the award ceremony, visitors had an opportunity to get a closer look at the exhibited works. They were impressed by the variety of styles and techniques (Please visit our photo gallery ). For the majority of participating artists, it was their first opportunity to exhibit their works in a public space.
The annual artwork competition has a different theme every year, and each year the theme reflects an aspect of UK-Kazakh cultural relations. A few of the best works decorate the walls of the British Council office in Almaty for a year.
Artwork Competition 2011
The 1st place was not awarded to anyone.
The prize fund was shared by 2 artists, Ilya Tenyakov and Sabyrzhan Alymzhanov and each will get eqv of 500 dollars.
Following the top two artists, the six runners up are:
They will receive certificates from the British Council, gift boxes and their artwork will be reproduced as a card in the British Council branded card-packs.
The top two artworks, six runners-up and all other finalists will be exhibited (together with last year's finalist works) in the gallery at the First President's Foundation in Almaty, from 17 November 2011.
Other finalists will also receive certificates and souvenirs from the British Council.
Eight best works
You may see other pictures in our Facebook photo album
How art meets sport at British Council Kazakhstan
In advance of the London Olympic Games 2012, the British Council in Kazakhstan is running an artwork competition on the theme “London 2012” to encourage the professional development of young Kazakhstani artists. This year, nearly 100 artworks, executed in different mediums, were submitted.
The annual artwork competition has a different theme every year, and each year the theme reflects cultural relations between the two countries.
This week, a professional panel of judges, consisting of Kazakhstan’s best artists, some internationally renowned names, art experts and curators, gathered at the British Council Almaty office to sift the 97 entries (A4 sketches) from 56 young artists, for the final round of the competition.
This year’s competition adds new dimensions to the project, including a new category for the digitally savvy, called “New Media” and a plan to exhibit the artworks at one of the Almaty’s art galleries for a month this autumn.
The diverse team of contemporary Kazakhstani artists, whose names were announced on the British Council’s and other web-resources, was chaired by British Council Director, Lena Milosevic, and moderated by Arts Projects Manager, Maya Zedelashvili. The jury had a highly enjoyable couple of hours, discussing and selecting the most promising out of the 97 sketches, in an informal and relaxed atmosphere.
21 entrants were shortlisted to participate in the final round. The full-size artwork, in the author’s chosen medium, will be brought to the British Council in early October for a final assessment panel, which will identify the winner and 7 best artworks (runners-up) to be awarded with professional artist’s sets from global leading brands and other prizes. The best works will also be reproduced on the British Council branded cards, made into souvenir sets.
London-2012 Olympics theme doubled the number of participants and submissions. Last year’s theme - ‘UK- Kazakhstan Cultural Relations’, was a tougher call for young artists. The best works reproduced in greeting card packs can be viewed on our Facebook photo album
All judges were unanimous in their feedback that annual competition is a practical way of encouraging artistic talent, and through this competition, the British Council is strengthening its presence and reputation on the visual arts scene in Almaty, where such initiatives are rare.
As one of our judges noted: “The British Council is the first international organisation to understand the importance of supporting young, budding, artists on a regular basis. This competition is the most open and transparent of all that I’ve known in Almaty, and the addition of the New Media category only verifies that the UK continues to be a leader in the field of modern art.”
Ilyushin
Karabalayeva
Kassymova
Kisselyov
Kozhevnikova
Musstafayev
Sautbekov
Sharmukhambetova
Sukhosyr
Tenyakov
Tkachenko
Zhumazhanov
Agapitov
Alimzhanov
Salavatova - Akhmatkhanov
Yitbalakov
Shintassova
Poposhev
Bghytzhan
Aktayev
Bubikanova
Dates and Steps of the Contest:
Submission of the sketches in A4 format to e-mail: bc.arts.kz@gmail.com . Size of file should not exceed 2 MB 30 JuneAssessment and short-listing of sketches by professional panel of judges (find the list of judges on our website: www.britishcouncil.kz).
Informing participants of the outcome of the assessment panel
JulyCriteria for the selection of works:
Sketches and final works evaluated by professional jury by following criteria:
Originality, authenticity
Modern
Mastery (craftsmanship, where applicable)
Fit to the visual style of British Council Almaty office (white walls with glass partitions, white furniture and floor, red colour accents, modern Western European visual style)
Panel of Judges
Prizes:
First Place – The winner will receive a cash prize of $1000 (in Kzt). The winning artwork will be exhibited in the main conference hall of British Council office for 1 year.
Digital category - The winner will receive $300 (in Kzt) and will be exhibited in the meeting room of the British Council for 1 year.
The winner and seven runners-up will receive the British Council award Certificates and special gifts.
8 works will be reproduced on British Council branded sets of cards and distributed widely among our contacts locally and abroad throughout the year.
All artwork, made in full size, will be exhibited in Almaty, in November 2011.
Contact us on the telephones +7 (727) 2444 144/46 or e-mail: yuliya.pechenkina@kz.britishcouncil.org
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